Dear Fellow Dog Lovers,

Sit back and get ready for a lot of wonderful news! I have reported many, many happy adoptions since I started writing this blog. But every so often there is a Spectacular Adoption that I am thrilled to report. These are dogs who for various reasons have been at the shelter an extra-long time or have challenges that make finding the perfect home more difficult. On Sunday, I got to witness a Spectacular Adoption—Gilbert’s! Gilbert came to WHS last December as a stray. He had been hit by a car and had a fractured shoulder. After undergoing surgery, he spent his recovery time and the months since in foster care with a wonderful volunteer, Jolene. She worked tirelessly with this “bull in a china shop” love bug while waiting and waiting for the right family to come along. On Sunday, Gilbert finally spent his first night in his very own home with his new family. I was so glad that I was there to take this picture of Gilbert and Jolene with his new people. We will all miss you, Gilly, especially Jolene, but our tears are ones of joy for you.

Last week I reported Faye’s Spectacular Adoption. But while I took a picture of the new family, I promised not to post it until I found out that the adoption was working and that Faye had settled in. Yesterday I got the following email from the family.

“Faye (now Roxy) and our other dog Peewee are great buddies. Between my husband and I we have 5 kids and she absolutely loves having kids around too. She sleeps with the kids and keeps watch over them like they are her kids. She is doing great and is well loved already! We will definitely keep her!!”

So many of us at the shelter have loved Gilbert and Faye for such a long time. We are feeling pretty darn happy this week!

Then there was this very happy adoption on Sunday, as well. Although Kewpie wasn’t at WHS for an extra-long time, she quickly worked her way into so many of our hearts. Her new little girl was just bursting with excitement, as you can see in this photo.

And I love this shot of them leaving the shelter with all kinds of supplies for their new best friend!

I want to tell you about one more special WHS adoption this week. I’m always thrilled when someone contacts me after seeing a dog in one of my posts, is interested in meeting the dog, and then adopts it. This was the case last week with Jasmine. We were worried about this shy girl and how she was dealing with the stress of the kennels. Here she was looking worried.

And here she is in her new home. This is what her new person emailed me. “She is doing great. Handles my cats very well and has really made herself at home.”

This next announcement is a first for my blog, as it’s not actually a WHS adoption. Many of you will remember Jax, who arrived at WHS in June. He was a favorite of volunteers and staff and we worked hard helping him to become more adoptable, but the right family didn’t come along. A couple of weeks ago he was transferred to one of our shelter friends, Family Dog New Life Shelter, in the hope that he would find his perfect forever people there. Today we got the news that Jax has been adopted! We are so happy for this young, exuberant boy, and wish him the best life ever! Faye and Jax were best buds at WHS, and here is my favorite picture of them together. Such great outcomes for both of these special dogs!

We had many more Blog Dog adoptions during the last week. Here they all are.

Chatter

We had a great play group session on Sunday with some romping, some resting, and some conversation.

We have several adoptable Beagles at the moment!

Staff member Kirsten spent some time with little McTwist.

Kewpie couldn’t wait to get under the platform again!

This game is called “Where’s Kewpie?”

Little Chauncey is still waiting for his forever home and he can’t quite believe it.

 But Kewpie tried to cheer him up.

On the way back to the kennels after play group, I couldn’t resist this shot of Kirsten with McTwist and Alpaca.

My name is Oso. Do I have a face you could love? Yes, I do!

Sunday afternoon I had some new dogs to photograph and what a gem I started with! This is a new S.T.A.R.T. dog, Oso, a two-year-old Chow Chow/Newfoundland mix. I found him hanging out in the office of Jennifer Kaser, our shelter director. We went outside for pictures. Jen reported that Oso was perfectly behaved in her office. He also walks well on leash, takes treats politely, and…drum roll…when we went back into the administrative offices, Oso came face-to-face with Buster, the office cat. What happened? Absolutely nothing. The two sniffed noses and walked on. Amazing! Oso is temporarily in a foster home at the moment and Karla, his foster mom, says he could make a great family dog. This boy won’t be around long! Look at that face!

Later in the afternoon, Sarah spent some time with him.

And I love this shot!

Don’t mind my cone, I’ll have it off very soon!

Maggie is a five-year-old Australian Cattle Dog mix. She has been at the shelter for several weeks and is anxious to have a real home. She would like to be an only dog and would love an active family so she can go for long walks and then snuggle in the evening. She doesn’t care for pesky cats and would like a fenced yard. Maggie thoroughly enjoyed spending time with volunteers Kyah and Ashley on Sunday.

  Here she is today with new volunteer Keri. Her cone is a little worse for wear, but she’s still a happy girl!

Still here…still hoping…still waiting.

The first dog I wanted to see when I got to the shelter today was sweet Emma. Trish was just taking her out, so I went with them to get some pictures. Emma is a three-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix who has been at WHS since September 13th. She’s not big on smiling, but is a very happy girl, especially when she’s playing fetch.

Here she is excitedly waiting for me to throw the ball.

I had some fun news to tell Emma. On Friday I’m helping with a group of school kids who will be visiting the shelter. Emma will be my teaching assistant when we talk about meeting dogs and dog safety. She will be a terrific helper!

November is Adopt A Senior Pet Month! How about ME?

One of our new dogs this week is this beauty, Shady Dame, a German Shepherd/Collie mix who is eight years old. Joan took her out today and loved her. Shady is a gentle, shy girl, unsure why she is at the shelter. She walks well on leash and was very polite taking my hot dog bits. This sweetheart would like a quiet home, leisurely walks around the neighborhood, and curling up at your feet in the evening. What a keeper!

Emelynn’s Pick of the Week!

Emelynn’s favorite this week is Oliver, a two-year-old Jack Russell/Shih Tzu mix. She reports he loves attention and to cuddle, he walks well on leash, and is simply a delightful little boy. With his one-ear-up and one-ear-down look, he’s a pretty cute little guy, and he really liked his time with Emelynn.

Yep, we’re another bonded pair of Beagles!

Today Trish and Emelynn met a couple of new Beagle mixes, Dixie and Carly, a bonded pair, seven and eight years old. These little girls are well-behaved and looking for a new home together. They enjoyed play group on Sunday. If you’re a Beagle person, these two might be for you!

I’m new here! Looking for a fun family!

Trish had a great time with another newbee, Molly, an Australian Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix. Molly is four years old and very active. She would enjoy and benefit from WHS classes and would love to try some agility training. Molly is a happy girl and hoping for a family to love.

At the end of my shift, I went into the administration offices for a quick question. I was met by Karma, Jen Kaser’s rescued S.T.A.R.T. dog whom we all love.

That’s it for this week, and what a great week it was!

Remember, if you see a dog on my blog whom you are interested in meeting, try to make arrangements to get to the Willamette Humane Society soon. Some dogs are adopted more quickly than you might think.

You can reach me at adoptanoregondog14@yahoo.com